Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences

Dr Howick has spent the last 10 years investigating rules of evidence that govern whether we should believe medical interventions benefit patients. His work in this area cumulated in a book ‘The Philosophy of Evidence-Based Medicine‘ and a tool for gauging Levels of Evidence, both are used by researchers and guideline developers in the Uk and internationally. His research draws on his training as an analytic philosopher and clinical epidemiologist.

Dr Howick enjoys teaching and lecturing and has won several teaching awards. He leads a module on the History and Philopsophy of Evidence-Based Healthcare, and is the Dissertation Coordinator for the MSc. In addition he teaches ethics and study design to medical students. Eight of his students have published their work in peer reviewed journals in 2013 and he is keen to mentor students interested in: 1) the ethics and effects of placebo treatments; 2) evaluating the effects of evidence hierarchies; 3) how point of care (‘near patient’) tests can improve diagnosis and monitoring.